“Unca,” she says as he crouches down to her level and Dakota starts to pet Oreo.
I hear her laughing more and turn to see my puppy licking Dakota’s hands.Kreed keeps Oreo in his arms and lets his niece play with her.It’s not until she starts to wiggle against Kreed that he stands again and heads for the front door.Dakota follows behind him as he takes the puppy out to go to the bathroom.I continue cooking as I listen to them laughing on the front porch since they left the door open.I can’t wait until every morning is like this with our own kids.I’m ready to be a mom now.
As I finish cooking everything and load the food on platters, I pull out plates, silverware, and cups to set the table.Kreed has had child-proof cups since I moved in here and I know they’re for his nieces and nephews.He keeps everything here they could want including a box of toys in the living room when they show up randomly or he babysits.That was the first thing he showed me for them when I moved in here.
I move everything to the table after icing the cinnamon rolls and pull out the milk, butter, and syrup.Kreed and Dakota walk back in the house and close the door behind them as they head for the kitchen.This time, Kreed helps Dakota wash her hands and he ends up soaked somehow.Both of them are laughing as he dries her off before starting on himself.The two of them are so funny.Helping Dakota in a seat between Kreed and me, I put food on her plate before pouring milk in her glass.This isn’t how I was expecting to start my day, but it’s a pleasant surprise and one that erases the horrible day I had yesterday.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Link
WAKING UP TO an emptybed kind of scared me.I didn’t think Annistyn would be up so early after her breakdown yesterday.She hardly slept and spent hours tossing and turning with nightmares when she did finally fall asleep from pure exhaustion.I knew it was going to be a rough night after the little bit of time she spent at her aunt and uncle’s house.Roger and Debbie were on standby in case she wanted them here.Her cousin messaged me a few times throughout the night to check on her and plans on coming over to see her today.He needs to see for himself she’s okay and if she’s lying about not needing to see Debbie.Roger is honestly better than me to judge what Annistyn needs because he’s seen this so many times over the years of helping people on his ranch.I will refer to anything he says in this situation because it’s new for me and I’ll take all the help and support he can give Annistyn.
Getting out of bed, I take care of my morning business before heading back to the room and grabbing Oreo out of her bed.This puppy is adorable and loves my girl as much as I do.She follows Annistyn around no matter what she’s doing.The only time I get with Oreo is when Annistyn hasn’t been in the room or she’s in the bathroom.Oreo already listens to commands and knows she’s not to be underfoot when we’re eating.It doesn’t matter if we’re at the table, on the couch, or at the island.Oreo will go lay in her bed in the living room while we eat.Annistyn doesn’t want her to get used to having table food and I can’t blame her.This is her puppy and I’ll follow her rules.
Before I get to the bottom of the stairs, I already know Annistyn isn’t in the kitchen alone.I can hear giggles and instantly realize at least one of the kids has found their way over to the house.Slowing my steps down, I watch on as Dakota sits in a chair away from the stove while Annistyn cooks.Music plays softly in the background as Dakota sings the song.Most of the words are made up, but that’s okay.She loves music and always sings along.
“Somethin’ smells good down here,” I say as Annistyn keeps her back to me so she doesn’t burn anything and I walk in closer to the two girls.“Sweet Girl, what are you doin’ here so early in the mornin’?”
“Hungy,” Dakota answers me with a smile on her face as if she’s won some award.
“I sent Cali a message that she was here,” Annistyn tells me as she finally turns to face me with a genuine smile on her face.This is all because of the little girl who invaded our home this morning and I love Dakota even more because of her ability to make everyone around her happy.
“Unca,” Dakota says and I know she’s finally seen Oreo in my arms.
Crouching down in front of my niece, I let her pet Oreo.The puppy in my arms starts to lick Dakota’s hands, making her laugh out loud as she continues trying to pet Oreo.After a few minutes, Oreo starts to wiggle in my arms and I know she has to go outside.Standing up, I leave the kitchen and listen as Dakota follows behind me.When I get on the porch, I set Oreo down and she races down the steps.Dakota laughs at her because Oreo flops face first into the grass at the bottom of the steps.Oreo doesn’t miss a beat and keeps running just far enough from the porch to find a spot to go to the bathroom.Dakota stands in front of me and we watch the puppy.
“Come, Oreo,” I call her when she’s done and the dog runs back up the stairs and heads straight inside the house.Dakota and I follow her to find Annistyn setting the table with the food and our plates.
I help Dakota wash her hands.When she goes to rinse the soap off, my niece manages to spray my entire upper body with water.It’s cool and I hold in the shout I want to let loose because I am shirtless and it’s a little colder than I’d like.Dakota heads for the table where my Pixie helps her in the seat between our plates.I watch on as she places food on the plate in front of my niece before making her own.Knowing either Cali or Caleb will be over soon, I leave enough food for one of them to join us.I can almost guarantee it will be Caleb this time.
“Is good,” Dakota says after Annistyn butters her pancakes and adds a small amount of syrup off to the side of the plate.My niece doesn’t like it directly on her pancakes and Annistyn already knows this.
“You were such a big help.Dakota helped me make the pancakes this morning,” Annistyn says as I hear the keypad outside beep to alert us that the door is now unlocked.
“Do I have a missin’ daughter over here?”Caleb asks as he walks in the house and heads straight for the table.“Dakota, what are you doin’, Silly Girl?”
